The U.S. Small Business Administration has made some important updates to the HUBZone program, including important information regarding continuing eligibility and Redesignated Areas. COVID-19 Flexibilities In response to COVID-19, the HUBZone program issued flexibilities to HUBZone businesses effective March 13, 2020.   Some …

As a reminder, beginning on October 15, 2020, all women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSBs) pursuing WOSB/EDWOSB set-asides, as well as solicitations with pools reserved for WOSBs/EDWOSBs, must be certified as a WOSB/EDWOSB, either by …

The next major transition to beta.SAM—the FPDS contract award data reporting tools— is coming next month, with the legacy SAM.gov next on deck. Moving the reporting functions of the Federal Procurement Data System—and other parts of the larger transition—has led …

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has addressed in regulatory fashion the uncertainty over who is entitled to leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA).  A New York federal judge created the uncertainty on August 2, 2020 by …

The Department of Defense (DOD) released additional policies and guidance on the implementation of Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Section 3610 allows the government to reimburse contractors for certain leave paid to employees …

It’s been two years since Congress passed legislation aimed at purging equipment made by untrusted telecom companies like ZTE and Huawei from the federal supply chain. Last week, an interim rule that fully implements the legislation finally took effect. And …

Women-Owned Contracting Goal Met for the Second Time in Scorecard History; $4.1 Billion in Federal Contracts Awarded to Small Businesses in Alaska! The U.S. Small Business Administration announces the federal government exceeded its small business federal contracting goal, awarding 26.5% – or …

The Federal Acquisition Regulation has officially been updated to increase the micro-purchase threshold and the simplified acquisition threshold, effective August 31, 2020. Various federal agencies had already increased the thresholds through deviations, but this rule makes it official across the board. A …

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Final Rule on Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB) Certification (the Final Rule) went into effect on July 15, 2020, with some provisions delayed until October 15, 2020. In a …

The Department of Defense’s new program for third-party cybersecurity assessments of contractors is starting to answer some of the important questions about who those third-party assessors will be. The Accreditation Body (AB) that is overseeing the program — known as Cybersecurity Maturity Model …

Five years after Congress ordered it, the Small Business Administration has published the long-awaited final rule to stop self-certification for the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) federal contracting program and to begin offering its own free online WOSB certification process. There …

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council (CAAC) in recent weeks has issued two class deviations from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and intends to issue a third. The recent CAAC memos are: Class Deviation from …

Sustaining Alaska’s Future Economy (AK SAFE) Available to Alaska Businesses  The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) Board at its March 27 meeting created in AIDEA the Sustaining Alaska’s Future Economy Guaranty Program (AK SAFE) to confront the economic …

Your questions regarding SBA loans should be directed to the Alaska SBDC. The Alaska SBDC is providing daily Q&A briefings at 2:00p AKST. Sign up at Daily Briefings for Small Businesses about Coronavirus Opportunities. For more information contact info@aksbdc.org and small businesses can …

The only thing clear right now about the Coronavirus COVID-19 and impacts on government contracts is that circumstances are fluid and changing daily. As resources are being identified and made available to businesses, it is still uncertain how this current …

As you know the CV19 virus is dominating the news and our personal and professional lives in a significant way.  The Alaska PTAC is open for business to support you on a regular basis but we are implementing some risk reduction …

An important reminder to check all addenda, communication and updates to open bids as many public entities may be adjusting or suspending public bid openings, pre-bid meetings, walk-throughs, or other in-person events. All information that has been updated or changed …

Well, if you’d been waiting for DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) standards to stop being “draft” before you took a look at them, the wait is over! Version 1.0 (no longer marked draft) was released last week. DoD has indicated it …

What is the relationship between NIST SP 800-171 rev.1 and CMMC? The intent of the CMMC is to combine various cybersecurity control standards such as NIST SP 800-171, NIST SP 800-53, ISO 27001, ISO 27032, AIA NAS9933 and others into …

The Senate voted 88-5 last week to confirm Jovita Carranza to be administrator of the Small Business Administration, a position that has been filled in an acting capacity for nearly a year. Chris Pilkerton has served as the acting leader …